Non-binary Ecuadorian actor Fernando Vieira debuts in ‘Eva Luna’, a play based on the novel by Isabel Allende, in New York

In 1994, he moved to New York with his mother to seek a better economic situation. In that city the Ecuadorian actor Fernando Vieira He also found his passion for performancewhich became his career, as well as the writing and the address.

Now the fruits of those trades are being recognized internationally thanks to the debut de Vieira in the staging of Eva Lunaan adaptation of the novel by Isabel Allende for Spanish repertoirea theater located in the Kips Bay neighborhood, on the east side of Manhattan, and which for more than 50 years has aimed to represent the best of the Spanish language in the United States.

The piece, reimagined for the stage by the playwright Charity Svich (OBIE winner) and directed by Estefanía Fadul, premiered worldwide on Friday, June 3 and it will be on the billboard until mid december. The cast is made up of South American and Caribbean actors. Vieira is the only Ecuadorian.

“I got involved with this work when actors from the Repertorio Español company attended the BIP (Barrio Independent Productions) festival in New York, where my documentary was presented. Unlabeledwhere do i talk about myself gender identity”, explains the interpreter who studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio (HB) in New York.

Vieira identifies himself as an individual of non-binary gendera process that has been gradual, he says, thanks to progress for civil rights queer of the world. “I live with more freedom and I don’t stick to definitions,” says the actor.

Precisely, Vieira plays a character who is undergoing a gender transition.

From New York, stories of friends and notes of jazz will arrive at the Teatro Centro de Arte in the next concert

Allende’s book tells the story of Eva Luna, the narrative voice that picturesquely recounts his own existence, from his birth in poverty to positioning himself in society with a unique influence. On her way, Eva Luna meets a series of characters that change her life forever.

In this theatrical adaptationthe story begins with the Majority of age of the protagonist. At this moment Eva Luna has met a trans celebrity artist who lovingly explains the world of adults. That is Vieira’s character.

“The character arc begins at a stage when introduced himself as a man, Melesioduring the day, but worked in a cabaret at night with the name Mimi. In those years he met Eva Luna. There is revolution and conflict in the city and they lose sight of each other”, narrates Fernando.

As the years go by Eva Luna and Melesio meet again by chance, but now he lives openly as Mimi, a famous soap opera actress.

This work is based on the novel Eva Luna which came out in the late 80s and therefore is avant-garde for Latin Americabecause they touch gender issues when it was not common. That is why I consider it important in Hispanic literature. queer”, highlights the actor.

Certainly, it queer defines Vieira’s work, both in acting and in his original works. One of them is abnormalnot yet produced, which deals with the life queer of a group of young people from Guayaquil in the early 1990s. “The culture queer is essential in my work as well as my Ecuadorian identity, because more presence is needed queer in Ecuadorian literature and theater”.

Another component of her work is the stories of Latin American women and Ecuadorian post-colonialist culture.

The camaraderie, professionalism and love for culture characterize the human team of the Teatro Sánchez Aguilar

“I am interested in these types of stories, because representation of diverse communities in the arts, literature, or media is critical to creating visibility to people who are not part of a heteronormative society, in the case of gender diversity. For many years, on television or in literature, stories were presented where it seemed that everyone was heterosexual, or that gender determined a person’s behavior. And not only on the issue of gender, in Ecuador and in Latin America in general, historically, it has been customary to see that white people are the ones who enjoy the highest ranks in the workforce, politics, the world of entertainment.

“I am interested in stories where the focus is on those who are not considered as the ideal prototype of the society”.

The theater reaches neighborhoods with new rooms in the north of Guayaquil

For this reason, one of the great wishes of the New York based interpreter It is that in Ecuador more visibility can be given to the trans community, of color, female leaders, indigenous people, homoparental couples, “in a dignified and respectful mannerthe general population will have more empathy and awareness about the rights and respect for these people.”

“I was in Guayaquil in January. I went on holiday. On the one hand I noticed that the younger generation is more open to expanding the definition of gender. I noticed this through social networks and by young relatives and their friends. I notice the way youth is more likely to respect to people with diverse identities”, he emphasizes.

On the other hand, through TV and by the people one meets, and comments on the social networks about LGBTI-themed notes, follow having a very conservative society where, despite civil triumphs, derogatory or offensive language continues to be used about gender people queer”. (YO)